


meant to be

by cis_king_uwu



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Draco Malfoy-centric, F/M, M/M, Philosophers Stone through Deathly Hallows, Ron Weasley-centric, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2019-11-12 14:57:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18013046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cis_king_uwu/pseuds/cis_king_uwu
Summary: just another slightly basic soulmate au





	1. listen before i go

**March 1st, 1991**

**The Burrow, Ottery St Catchpole, Devon, West Country, England, Great Britain**

When every witch or wizard, regardless of their blood status, turns eleven years of age the name of their soulmate is imprinted upon the wrist of their dominant hand. The same happens with muggles but the name is imprinted on their dominant wrist at birth. No one knows why this occurs, maybe it was done back when wizards weren't in hiding so they could publicly differentiate themselves from Muggles. Or maybe its due to the magic in their blood, waiting for someone with matching magic to make the soulbond. Some people, both magical and Muggle, never get a name on their wrists and live their lives without a soulmate. 

Either way, Ronald Weasley didn't exactly care all that much about soulmates. His brothers had all gotten their soulmarks when he was a kid so he knew what would happen; the day before your eleventh birthday you wouldn't have a name on your wrists and on your eleventh birthday you would. His parents also spoke non stop about it, seeing as how they were each other's soulmate, as soon as Ron turned ten and Ginny would encourage her mother to talk about it more. Ron sometimes wished that he would wake up on his eleventh birthday without a name on his wrist just so his mother would stop talking about the 'wonder of soulmates' and 'how happy he'll be when he meets his soulmate'. But then his mother would be putting on a constant pity party for him and most likely ban anyone from talking about soulmates until Ron was another eleven years older. Not like his older brothers talked about their soulmates much; Bill hadn't met his yet, Charlie was living in Romania and hadn't said anything about finding his, the twins and Percy are all off at Hogwarts so they didn't have much of a chance to talk about soulmates to their youngest brother. Ginny, on the other hand, talked about soulmates like that was the only thing she knew how to talk about. She was, quite frankly, obsessed and couldn't wait for her eleventh birthday. 

The Burrow was unnaturally cold in the early morning hours of Rons eleventh birthday. He noticed this as soon as he awoke, pulling the covers more tightly around him. The house was quiet, despite the odd creaking of a floorboard here and there. The redheaded boy sighs, knowing that he'll have to look at his wrist eventually. With a deep breath, Ron pulled the blankets off of his body and looked down at his now exposed wrist. 

_Draco Malfoy_

Ron's blue eyes widened tremendously at the name on his wrist, his father worked with Lucius Malfoy and always said how arrogant of a man he was. Would this Draco be the same as his father? The same as most other Pureblood wizards? He knew about the reputation that the Malfoy's had in the Wizarding community; they had sided with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and became Death Eaters during his rise to power but they claimed that they were under the Imperious curse.

Upon hearing humming and dishes clanking around downstairs that happened every morning when his mother woke up, Ron climbs out of his feet on wobbly legs. He walked downstairs silently, not wanting to wake Ginny. His father was most likely already at work for the day so there was less of a chance to wake him, obviously. He could smell that his mother was starting to cook breakfast; the scent of bacon filling his nostrils as he walked closer and closer to the kitchen. He finally came to a halt in the doorway to the kitchen, a reasonable distance away from his mother. 

"Morning Mum" Ron says. 

Mrs. Weasley turned around to face her youngest son with a wide smile on her face. He knew that he would have to immediately either tell her who his soulmate is or just blatantly show her his wrist before she starts badgering him with every question about the topic imaginable. 

"Have you looked at your wrist, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asks after a beat of silence. 

He solemnly nodded his head before sticking his wrist out in front of him so she would be able to read the name, looking down at the floor as he did. She steps a few inches closer to him to better read the name on his wrist. Ron heard his mother mutter something to herself before he looked up from the floor. At that point, she had already turned her attention back towards preparing breakfast for herself, Ron, Ginny, and possibly her husband. She clearly didn't want to talk about the name on Ron's wrist.

"Happy birthday, sweetie" Mrs. Weasley says instead of commenting on the name on Ron's wrist. 

Ron simply nods his head in acknowledgment to what she said. Are the Malfoy's really that bad to the point where she doesn't even want to talk about their son?

 


	2. my boy

**June 5th, 1991**

**Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England, Great Britain**

In high-class Pureblood wizarding society, the thought of marrying for love or marrying someone's soulmate was heavily frowned upon. The only thing older Purebloods cared about was keeping the blood of their own pure, regardless of the cost. The mere notion of seeking out someone's soulmate during He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s reign of terror was strictly banned if said soulmate wasn't a Pureblood. As a result of that, Draco Malfoy wasn't taught much about soulmates as a child. Sure, his parents had each other's names on their wrists but that was his only exposure to people who married their soulmates. All of his friends' parents had married each other because they were put in marriage contracts by their parents when they were born, ignoring the names on their wrists or they didn't have names there at all. 

His mother taught him all he knew about soulmates, in secret of course as his father didn't want him to even believe in the notion of soulmates. His father wanted to make a marriage contract with the Parkinsons, marrying Draco to their daughter Pansy, but his mother wouldn't agree to it; she believed in soulmates and wanted Draco to experience the same love that she was able to. But the information that she gave him was limited, seeing as how she was hardly taught about them when she was Draco's age. All he really knows is that wizards get a name on their wrist on their eleventh birthday while Muggles get a name on their wrist when they're born and the name on their wrist belongs to their soulmate, obviously. And that some people just don’t have soulmates and that’s okay too. 

The young Malfoy heir didn’t understand why his father was so against soulmates but was married to his own. Maybe it was because of what his parents taught him about soulmates as a child or something along those lines. Or maybe his father acted the way he did because it was expected of him to teach Draco traditional Pureblood values, even if he doesn’t fully like or live by them. Draco was just excited to see what name would appear on his wrist; to find out who he was destined to spend his whole entire life with. 

So when he woke up on his eleventh birthday, the first coherent thing he did was move his wrist so he could read the name that was now on it. 

_Ronald Weasley_

Weasley? Like the band of redheads that his father raved on and on about for being blood traitors? That couldn’t possibly be right, his soulmate couldn’t be a blood traitor. 

The blonde boy frowned down at the name on his wrist. How could someone that he had absolutely  _nothing_ in common with be his soulmate? He must just be having a very vivid bad dream. Draco laid back down, pulling the covers up to his chin. 

Yes, it has to be a very vivid bad dream.  


	3. welcome to the end of your life

**September, 1996**

**The Great Hall, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland**

During the past five years, Ron learned to simply ignore the name on his wrist. Malfoy was a complete twat and there was no way that they would be together, soulmates or not. He was an asshole to Ron, Harry, Hermione, and practically everyone else at Hogwarts whenever he felt like it. And besides, they were fighting on different sides in the war so their allegiances didn’t allow for them to even start a relationship. It somewhat helped that’s both Harry and Hermione were in the same boat as him; the name on Harry’s wrist is Pansy Parkinson and the name on Hermione’s is Blaise Zabini, both on the other side of the war. 

Ron could deal with the rude remarks from Malfoy and his group of friends all day but he started to worry when those insults stopped. Harry, Ron, And Hermione all knew that something was wrong when the Slytherins seemed to just forget about them. They seemed to avoid them like they were a plague, actually. Harry was obsessing over whether or not Malfoy had become a Death Eater over the summer holidays, something that Ron would rather not think about. 

He knew that, realistically, his soulmate probably has a Dark Mark on his arm but he didn’t want to believe it. He wanted to believe that Malfoy stood up to Voldemort and was going to join their side any day now. But that’s a silly fantasy that Ron kept to himself. Malfoy was fighting on Voldemort’s side while Ron was fighting with the Order of the Phoenix. 

But that didn’t stop Ron from wanting to be with Malfoy, not in the slightest. He’s wanted to acknowledge their bond every day for the past five years but if it was going to happen it would need to happen at the right time. And it doesn’t seem that in the middle of a war is exactly a good time to go professing your undying love to your soulmate. 

It didn’t help that Malfoy always made a point to look squarely at Ron during most meals, his facial expression one of contemplation. Maybe contemplating why the fates had paired him with a blood traitor like Ron in place of literally anyone else or how long he could last without trying to confront him about the whole soulmate thing. Ron is perfectly fine with just sweeping that under the rug and pretending that Malfoy was just another Slytherin and Death Eater on the other side but, realistically, he can’t. 

Ron didn’t look back at the blonde when he could help it but something about his icy blue eyes drew the redhead in. He was sorely tempted to just stand up, walk over there, and snog the other boy until they forgot who they were and where they were. But reality, usually Hermione hitting him with a book, kicked in and rooted Ron firmly in his seat at the Gryffindor table. 

“Ronald, we need to get moving or we’ll be late to class” Hermione hissed at him that morning, forcing him to look away from Malfoy. 

The two boys had had what seemed like an eternal staring contest that morning; neither of them breaking eye contact nor blinking for several minutes on end. Ron glared at Hermione before huffing and standing up, feeling Malfoy’s eyes on him the whole time. Hermione started walking away from the Gryffindor table, Harry and Ron slowly following behind her. 

“No one else is even leaving, we’re not going to be late” Ron grumbled to Harry, making sure that Hermione couldn't hear him. 

It was true, no other students had even got out of their seats by the time Hermione forced the two of them out of the Great Hall. The first lesson of the day didn’t even start for another half hour anyway so they weren’t even close to being late.

“I think she just doesn’t want to be in the same room as  _him_ ” Harry whispered back. 

It was no secret, to Harry and Ron at least, that Hermione didn’t hold a high opinion of her soulmate. Zabini was a spoiled rich pureblood who acted as if he’s better than everyone else at Hogwarts, which is just plain annoying to everyone but it’s worse for Hermione. He is her soulmate after all and his opinions on muggleborns are quite clear, despite his own soulmate being one. She’s made a point to never talk to him despite things related to the classes they have together and even those conversations are rare if they ever happen as she doesn't want to associate with him. 

Zabini almost constantly trying to talk to Hermione doesn’t exactly help the situation. He’s tried to talk to her after meals and lessons multiple times, of which Hermione will either indulge him and listen to what he has to say or just keeps walking without paying him any mind. They all know that if they acknowledge their soul bond it will make things a lot more complicated for everyone because of the war. 

“Understandable” Ron whispered back. 

At least her soulmate actually seemed to want to work things out, unlike Malfoy in Ron’s case and Parkinson in Harry’s case. But, if they were to even try to work things out everything will become extremely complicated due to them fighting on different sides of the war. That’s why most days Ron wished that either he didn’t have a soulmate or that Voldemort had stayed dead.  


	4. bad guy

**September, 1996**

**Slytherin Common Room, The Dungeons, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland**

Draco Malfoy wasn’t one to curse the fates often but when he did, he had more than enough reasoning behind it. Zabini and Parkinson have been talking about soulmates more and more lately, both of them coincidentally leaving out the name on their arms. Draco knew the person with the name on his wrist hated him but was safe and that would have to be all he would have. Someone that Weasley would throw insults at, not affection or even civility. Not the person that Weasley confided in or even looked at, someone who garnered disgust when he was thought of. 

From the conversations that Zabini and Parkinson have had, Draco has realized that their soulmates were people they could never realistically be with. So most likely they were Gryffindors or people adamantly opposing the Dark Lord and possibly were going to fight against him if necessary. 

Talks of soulmates would only bring pain so that’s why Draco always tunes his friends out when the topic somehow arises. He didn’t want to think of the name on his arm or the person connected to it. They were fighting on different sides of the war and if they were to both survive it wouldn’t ever work out. Draco would either be a full-blown Death Eater or be serving a life sentence in Azkaban. 

“Hey, Draco, why haven’t you told us who your soulmate is?” Parkinson asks from a nearby leather chair. 

The blonde looks over at the black haired girl, a pointed expression on his face. Only a few other people were in the Slytherin Common room, not counting Zabini and Parkinson, but for all Draco knew they were there to spy on him for the Dark Lord. The last thing Draco needed him knowing is who his soulmate is. 

“Because that is none of your business, Parkinson” Draco says, standing from his chair. 

He wasn’t going to deal with Parkinson and Zabini questioning him about his soulmate in the Common Room for Merlin knows who long. Dinner is soon so Draco could arrive a little early. He walks out of the Common Room without saying anything more to either of his friends, ignoring them calling his name. 

Draco loved walking the castle halls when he was a First Year, it got his mind off of everything as he just admired the castle. His First Year was possibly his best and worst year at Hogwarts to date but he knows that this year will soon steal that ‘title’. His First Year was when he met his soulmate for the first time and made the daunting realization that they would never have a ‘happily ever after’ like he was told he would as a child. 

He cried that night, silently of course, and for many nights after that. He was always told that soulmates were ‘made for each other’ and would always find a way to be together but apply that to his situation with Weasley and shit is just complicated. He would gladly switch sides in this war if it meant he could be given the chance to have a life with Weasley. He would make that switch a thousand times but things just aren't that simple. His parents would suffer, or even be killed, if he were to switch sides and not complete the task that he was given.

As Draco rounded a corner all he saw was school robes before colliding with someone. Both Draco and the person he had literally walked into wobbled backwards before they were at least a few inches apart. Draco rubbed his forehead and an insult was forming in his head before his brain realized who was standing in front of him. Weasley was also rubbing his forehead, slightly glaring at the blonde. His sleeve was sliding down his arm ever-so slightly, almost showing Draco the name on his wrist. 

“Watch where you’re going, Weasley” Draco said after a moment, his voice a lot weaker sounding than he had intended for it to be. 

Weasley arched a brow at the blonde, practically rooting him to where he was standing. Draco could feel his cheeks heating up slightly and prayed that Weasley wouldn’t notice. But the slight widening of his eyes told Draco that he did indeed notice. 

Then Draco noticed the redness of Weasley’s cheeks and a cheeky grin took hold of his face. 

“What are you grinning about?” Weasley frowned, seemingly embarrassed. 

“Your cheeks, they’re a little red” Draco said, adding in a wink at the end for added effect. 

What is Draco doing? Trying to flirt with Weasley in the middle of a deserted corridor definitely isn’t going to help matters, at all. Weasley’s expression changed to something that Draco has never seen on him before. His eyes narrowed as if he was contemplating something and he slowly looked Draco up and down. Draco’s mouth popped open a little bit at that moment, completely in shock. 

Weasley looked Draco straight in the eye and opened his mouth to say something. 

“To-“ 

“Ron!” 

Weasley turned around and they both saw Granger and Potter stalking towards them. They both looked between Draco and Weasley with confused looks on their faces. Weasley looked back at Draco for a moment with an unreadable expression on his face before turning and walking towards his friends. Draco sighed and spun around, walking back the way he came a few minutes too late. 


End file.
